


Of Muses and Monsters

by Haberdasher



Series: Elsewhere Falls [4]
Category: Elsewhere University (Webcomic), Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Fae & Fairies, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 07:23:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16259420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haberdasher/pseuds/Haberdasher
Summary: Ford's interaction with Bill in the Elsewhere Falls AU.





	Of Muses and Monsters

Every time Ford thought his research was getting results, everything would always come crashing down again. He knew there had to be a reason behind it all--behind the Rules, behind what the Gentry could and could not do, behind the University being a place where mundane reality and Elsewhere could coincide--but whenever he got close to the root of it, his theories would fail, his grand designs would unravel into nothingness, leaving him knowing little more than he had when he started.

And, of course, the problem with studying the forbidden major was that it was forbidden, that he couldn’t let the world know of his studies until after they had already paid off, that he had to keep chipping away at his work without soliciting help from fellow students or faculty.

Ford was significantly farther into the Library than most students would ever go when he found a book telling of an ancient being who could provide answers where there had been nothing but questions, found an incantation to summon this mysterious being, and he knew what he had to do.

(The same book warned against summoning the being described therein--said not to trust him, said that he might well bring about the end of the world--but what was scientific inquiry without a hint of risk?)

But when he read aloud the incantation from the book... nothing happened.

Ford shoved the book back into the slot where he had found it, made his way out of the depths of the Library, and tried to forget the whole affair...

...until he nodded off beneath a tree, long nights spent combing the Library instead of sleeping coming back to bite him, and had the most peculiar dream.

That’s what he thought it was at first, anyway--a dream. And perhaps it was a dream, a dream which allowed his mundane self to connect with Elsewhere. The being before him was clearly a member of the Gentry, even his dreaming self knew that much, though the form that being chose was an unusual choice even by those standards--a triangle, a two-dimensional yellow triangle, with little stick-figure arms and legs and one large eye near the triangle’s center.

The being said that he was called Bill Cipher, but Ford knew better to take that at face value. When asked for his own name, Ford used Tesla, the same safename he had been using at Elsewhere for some time now, and added a bit of the history behind the name, speaking of Tesla’s genius and how he had been overlooked by history.

“Well then,” the being who called himself Bill said, “we’ll just have to make sure this Tesla isn’t forgotten so easily.”

And so the two began working together, sharing their knowledge of Elsewhere with one another. One of the Fair Folk working side-by-side with a human to learn more about how their realms were linked, what was more logical than that? And Bill spun stories about Ford’s genius, said that Ford was a rising star and that he would undoubtedly become famous when their research bore fruit... and Ford missed the subtle warning signs, didn’t notice the “might”s and “should”s and “could”s that peppered Bill’s speech, the little details gone ever so subtly awry.

They worked together for some time before striking a deal. It happened during midterms, naturally enough. Ford was half-awake, trying to cram as much studying and writing into his waking hours as he could while not entirely neglecting his unofficial study of the Gentry...

Ford had breached the topic initially, making an off-hand comment about how much valuable time he was wasting taking care of his body rather than his mind, but Bill was the one who suggested the deal.

(Of course it was Bill’s idea.)

A deal that would allow the one who went by Bill Cipher into Ford’s mind, would allow him to control Ford’s body while he should be asleep, with a promise (stated in language that Ford would realize too late was entirely suspect) to help with Ford’s studies, whether he was studying the mundane or the supernatural, when Bill did so.

It made sense at the time. Really.

They shook hands--Bill’s hands felt cold, even though they appeared to be covered in blue fire--and the deal was made.

When Ford woke up the next morning, he woke up to a halfway-decent completed draft of a paper he had been dreading writing, as well as some scribbled notes about the workings of Elsewhere.

A few mornings later, Ford woke up next to the train tracks that lined one end of campus, but he didn’t think much of it, and what suspicions he had were assuaged by Bill’s explanations when the two met afterwards.

Ford woke up a few weeks later in the forest, holding a lighter--Bill got an earful for that one, but Ford managed to find his way back to campus easily enough, and soon the matter was all but forgotten.

Then Ford woke up underwater, his hands wrapped around a massive log.

Ford was disoriented at first, naturally enough, but upon leaving the log behind and following the light, he made his way to the surface in time to catch his breath and managed to stumble out of the river, soaking wet, shortly afterwards.

Ford confronted Bill, asked why he had almost let him drown, and for once, Bill didn’t have an answer prepared, didn’t have some way to assuage Ford’s growing suspicions.

Still, it took Ford some time to piece together the pieces. Standing next to the cast-iron train tracks, entering Morganwode with a lighter in hand, trying (and failing) to cross the river using a log...

Ford finally realized that Bill hadn’t just wanted to study why Elsewhere University’s campus allowed the natural and supernatural to coincide. No, Bill had more than that in mind; he wanted to change all that, wanted to bridge the boundaries between Elsewhere and the rest of the material plane, let the Fair Folk loose around the world.

Ford stopped sleeping, stopped eating, stopped going to class, stopped doing anything except trying to find a way to stop Bill, trying to find a way to nullify their deal for good, trying to stop the Gentry from taking their reign of terror worldwide.

And in the depths of despair, unsure where he could turn for help, Ford sent a cryptic postcard to someone he hadn’t talked to in years, hoping that the same man who had caused him going to Elsewhere in the first place would be able to fix the mess that had resulted.


End file.
